Hummer

This little "Ruby Red" hummer was at a flower in my garden. How can I scale the hummer to appear the tiny size which it is in the universe? Consider exaggerating the objects around the hummer. Good theater employers exaggeration by each actor. Your painting is no different-it tells a story!  

Painting Birds on location!

This little snipe sat while I drove by turned around and parked nearby. I knew by then I had time to paint her if she was not fazed. Try it you'll have fun and time painting birds on location!

Two watercolors-compare!

Here is the same watercolor at two different stages. First stage is a study of Juncos. I look at the watercolor and for what is missing: The signature "hood"! After adding it I put the birds in context-they feed on the ground. Don't stop too soon, check for errors and add context!

Every time I revisit this watercolor of a bohemian waxwing, I see the live bird in my mind. It was winter and I was skiing and landed about five feet from the perched, breathing waxwing and my reaction was to reach over and stroke its back. The feathers and colors were so stunningly smooth. Painting the bird in my studio was easy but then it wasn't the real thing! After revisiting this painting for fifteen years, I realize it is real! It is my experience and I can see that experience with this image. Don't forget to paint!

What makes a landscape painting no a portrait painting? Context! How is that painted?
A portrait calls for one object/person/bird to be more important than the other objects. Biophilia claims all animals are important! How can one have a "center of interest" if one object does not stand out?
Space is the answer! The space between is the cohesion ecologist's talk about and landscape painters present. Simply put a branch in front of the bird and it makes it a landscape. Try it!

Why are watercolors hard? Because the painter is out of sequence. I brush in the "sunlight" at the beginning, then I had the bright colors and also the beautiful colors that I see.
Then I frame these colors with darks: really black but I mix my black or use indigo from the tube. If the bird is dark then the background is light. I'm finished when the darks set off the lights!